Article handling machine



5 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed Sept. 11, 1928 -lNVENTOR I fins/3923505) ATTORNEYJan. 31, 1933. r o. F. PRESBREY 1,895,939

I ARTICLE HANDLING MACHINE Filed Sept. 11, 1928' 5 Sheets-Sheet 2INVENTOR 027: [Rare/75x ATTORNEY o; F. PRESBREY ARTICLE HANDLING MACHINEJan. 31, 1933.

Filed Sept. 11, 1928 5 Sheets-Sheet :5

INVENTOR 0: [fins-550E) ATTORNEY Jan. 31, 1933. o. F. PRESBREY 3 ARTICLEHAN LING MACHINE I Filed Spt. 11, 1928 5 Sheets-Sheet 4 if y INVENTOR Y077.: [Erase/ray Jan. 31, 1933. Q F. PRESBREY 1,895,939

ARTICLE HANDLING MACHINE Filed Sept. 11, 1928 5 SheQtS-Sheet 5 "v vvvINVENTOR 0: {Basra/r5 BY Anoimzv mmsdum. 31, 1933 UNITED STATES".-

o'rrs mrnnsnnnz. or. nnoonnr, m You 'ABTIOLE HANDLING IAQHJI'EvApplication nletbgeptember I1, 1928. Serial No. 805,885.

This invention relates to improvements in article or material handlingdevices-and 'machines and may include practically all of the novelmechanism shown, described and, claimed in my co-pendinga plicationfiled March 26, 1927', Serial No. 18 ,690, the pres ent inventionincluding improvements thereover, more particularly intended foradapting the machine for handling brick in a brick 13 yard or elsewhere,although the invention is not restricted to that pur ose. In my saidprevious application the is applied to a tractor, for example, as thewell known McCormick Deering or Fordson tractors and the presentinvention may be likewise adapted to facilitate transporting of movingbrick to or from the kiln, to trucks, cars, etc.

One of the objects of the present invention is to provide a ruggedlifting arm or finger which is preferably pivoted to and forms part ofan elevator or lifting mechanism, the said arm preferably being soproportioned as to be readil engageable with a brick or other carrier,or supporting and elevatin thesame in horizontal position.

Another object is to provide a special carrier or pallet for brick whichmay be either P engaged by a lifting arm for raising or lowering, or maybe raised from the arm and lowered by suitable hoisting apparatus whichmay be embodied in a crane, for example,

preferably a full-circle swinging crane, such, for example, as disclosedin my aforesaid application.

Another object of the invention is to rovide a lifting arm forsupporting a bric or other carrier, which arm is tiltable to one side orthe other so as to dump the material to either side of the arm.

Other objects of the invention are to provide a brick handling machinepreferably comprising a motor truck or tractor, and which truck isprovided with a. lifting arm whichmay be moved down close to the groundor below its level so that the truck when backed up will quickly andproperly engage with a carrier or brick, for the purpose of lifting thesame to the desired height, and

then if desired to tilt some of the brick in one.

'sclosed invention direction and some in an opposite direction, e1therby the arm or a separate hoist, into brick carrying trucks, for example;thereby providmg a power machine wh1ch will tend to facilit and economy.of operation, particularly 1n a brick yard.

These being among the objects of the present invention, the same willnow be described with reference to the accom anying drawings showingpreferred embodiments of the invention, wherein I Figure 1 is a sideelevation of the im roved machine provided with a full-circle swingingcrane;

Fig. 2 is'a detail view of parts of the hoisting mechanism operated fromthe crane;

Fig. 3'is a rear elevation of a ortion of the machine, showing only thee evator or lifter mechanism; I

Fig. 4 is a sectionalside elevation of Fig. 3, showing the pivoted armswung up out ofv use; a

Fig. 5 is a transverse section of Fig. 3;

Fig. 6 is a side elevation of a modified form of'improved machine inwhich the crane is omitted;

Fig. 7 is a sectional side elevation of a modified form of lifting arm;I

Fig. 8 is an enlarged vertical, transverse, section thereof on the line88, Fig. 7,

viewed in the direction of the arrows, the

dotted lines indicating that the lifting arm has been tilted to eitherside;

Fig. 9 is an enlarged section on the line 9-9, Fig. 7, viewed in thedirection of the arrows;

Fig. 10 is an elevation, partly in section on line 10-10, Fig. 11, ofthe preferred construction of article carrier or pallet;

Fig. 11 is a top plan thereof;

Fig. 12 is a sectionon the line 12-42, Fig. 11; v

Fig. 13 is a plan of a portion of a modified or grating form of carrler;

Fig. 14 is a section on the line 14-14, Fig. 13; f

Figii15 is a side elevation, partly in section, of sti anothermodification of the article carrier; and

1a is a on theline' 16-16,

5. ferring to Fig. 1,the chassis 1 0 of a power.

vator or liftin means, havin wheels 16 running on rails 1 of the uprigts 14. i The u rig ts 14 are also firmly fixedto and y form a part ofthe superstructure or main fraine13.

. As distinguished from the invention of my prior application abovementioned, the carriage 15 supports a rugged arm 18 which in usmposition-extends fromthe lowerend of t ecarriage rearwardly of themachine. This arm 18 is of strong construction and of suitable length,being specially designed and adapted to engage with a brick or othercarrier, close to t e ound or somewhat into it, and lift thecarr1er;with facilit maybe compared with the bla e' of a semaphoresignal in that it is sleeved onto pivot 19 ournaled in brackets 20,which are rigid with the lower end of the carriage, the pivot being atri ht angles to the arm, so that the arm may swung down to projectrearwardly from the machine in a substantially horizontal direction asshown in Figs. land 5, and be swung up to the position shown in Fig. 4when not in use.

The rearwardly projecting arm 18 is provided with a heel 21 whichextends below the carriage and inwardly of the pivot 19 when the arm isin using osition, the carriage being provided with a rigid, horizontal,crossbar 22 which supports a roller 23 guided by a fixed upri ht rail 24which is located intermediately o? the rails 17 and is paralleltherewith. Adjustable in the cross-bar 22 is a vertical screw-spindle 25provided at its upper end with a crank handle 26 for turnin it andadjusting it so as to set the lower en of the screw spindle 25 in suchposition relatively to the arm 18 that it will form a stop or abutment,inwardly of the pivot 19, for the heel 21 of the arm when the arm is insubstantially horizontal position. Or, the arm may thereby be set to asomewhat inclined posltion, as occasion may require. When the arm is inuse the thrust of the weight carried by it will be taken bytheimpingement of the heel 21 on the stop furnished by the lower end ofthe screw 25, and these 'arts should therefore be of strong and dura 1econstruction.

' In Figs. 3 and 5 spaces are left between the sleeves of the arm andthe brackets v20,

which permit of the arm being shifted and adjusted laterally, more orless. At the top of the carriage is-a roller 27 This arm which alsotravels on the rail 24, and there is i also at-the front of the carriagea suitable preferably as disclosed in my said previous ap lication, thecrane havin a boom 32 and being provided with a hoistmg cable 33carrying a block 34 provided with a hook 35, the cable being operated inany suitable man-' ner as from a hoisting drum on the crane. The liftingarm 18 or the book 35 of block 34 are adapted 'to connect with asuitable article or material carrier 36, as for bricks, for example,this carrier being designed Ereferably to support as many as a thousandricks. The carrier comprises a platform 37 and a top portion or saddle38, the arm 18 being adapted to engage within the saddle, and the hook35 to engage a chain 39 which is passed through suitable-holes in thesaddle 38. The boom 32 supports a sustaining line or carrier levelingcable 40, which keeps the articles from being dumped, except whendesired, that is when the article carrier is operated from the crane 31.

Shouldit be desired to dump the brick which are at the oflside of thecarrier, away from the cable 40, the block 34 is lowered, and thiseffects an inclination of the vcarrier from the point of supportprovided by cable 40, and the dumping of those brick, the

other brick between the saddle and the said the hook, so as todischargeall of the brick on' the carrier at one time.

Referring to Fig. 6, there is shown a modification of the machine, whichomits the crane. In this modification a hoisting drum 41 is mounted onthe truck, and is for the operation of a cable 42 and is trained over asheave 43' of the lifting means, such as shown in Figs. 3, 4 and 5. Thiscable 42 is also trained over sheaves 44, 45 so that by the use of thehoisting drum 41 the lifting means may be operated. Connected with thecable 42 is a yielding connection 46 so that the cable may be run moresmoothly. In Fig. 6 the bracket 47 of the carriage is shown togetherwith the lifting arm '48, which is mounted on the bracket 47 by means ofa pivot 49. The article carrier 50 is shown supported on the arm 48carrying a load of brick.

Referring to Figs. 7, 8 and 9, there is shown a modified construction oflifting arm 51 and heel portion 52 thereof. The heel portion 52 naeaeae'of'the arm has a hole 53' for ,the pivot. support for the arm, whicharm may beitilte sidewise with respect to the heel portion. In bothforms of lifting arm, thatis the arm 18 of Fig. 1 and the arm 51, thesame is formed in the nature of. an elongated heavy blade, set edgeuppermost, that is to say the arm tapers transverse] its thickerportionbeing at the bottom and its thinner or edge portion at the top. Theouter portion of the arm has its lower edge 54 inclined, so that the endof the arm is formedmore or less as a taper ng toe, to more readilyengage with the article carrier, especially if the arm has to digsomewhat into the V ound. In Fig. 1 the arm 1s somewhat simi arlyformed, although the inclination is less abrupt.

A rigid shaft or core 55 extends from the heel portion 52 of the arm, asclearly shown in Fig. 7, and the arm 51 is provided with a longitudinalbore which receives the rigid shaft 55, so that by suitable means thearm 51 may be transversely tilted in one direction or the other withrespect to heel portion 52 as indicated by dotted lines in Fig. 8. Theouter end of the shaft 55 extends into a recess 56 formed in the outerend of the arm51. said reces forming a housing for a toothed ear 57which is fixed rigidly on the shaft 55.

here is a pinion 58, the teeth of which ar'e in constant mesh with thoseof the gear 57, and which is fixed'on a small shaft 59 supported in asuitable bearing and that may be turned by means of a removable handcrank 60. A lug 61, Fig.9, projects from the arm, into the recess 56, inthe region of the pinion 58, so that it may be caused to be engaged bythe teeth of the pinion, when the pinion is shifted by anexpansionlspring 62, the tendency of which is to urge the pinion 58outwardly and to cause the teeth thereof to engage with and belocked bythe lug 61. The pinion 58 cannot be rotated while it is locked by thelug 61, and hence the arm 51 is locked against a tilting movement uponthe shaft 55. However, when it is desired to tilt the arm the crank 60'is engaged'with the shaft 59 and the pinion pushed inwardly soas todepress the spring 62 until the pinion'disengages from the lug 61,whereupon the pinion may be turned by the hand crank,-.its teeth meshingwith the'teeth of the gear 57, causing a travel of the pinion in an arearound the gear 57, thus causing the arm 51 to'tilt laterally. It isobvious that such lateral tilting of the arm with respect to its heelportion 52 will result in a tilting of the article carrier engaged bythe arm, so that the material supported by the carrier may be dumped toeither side of the arm.

The article carrier has been briefly referred to, but not described indetail. In Figs. 10, 11 and 12 the preferred construction of articlecarrier is illustrated. It comprises spaced metal slats or bars 63 whichwith side bars (11 the artic peer to the taper of the liftin 64of anglemeta form the platform 3710f I e carrier. The vertical-flanges of] theangle bars 64 are provided with .holes 65 with which the ends of theslats 63 are engaged, the horizontal flanges of the angle bars being1 inengagement with the lower edges of t e slats 63. These parts may berigidly connected in any suitable manner as is obvlous. The saddle ortop portion 38 of the article carrier is preferably constructed ofmetallic side plates 66 which diverge 'toward their lower edges in theform of an inverted V, and through holes 67 in these plates 66 therepass the slats 63, so that a firm and rigid connection of the saddlewith the slats is provided, especially when bottom flanges 68 of thesaddleare engaged with the under edges of the slats 63 and welded orother-v wise secured thereto. The saddle plates 66 converge and theirupper portions form webs 69 between which there is received a metalfiller strip 70, which may be firml attached to the saddle plates as byrivets 71 passing through the filler strip 7 O and the web portions 69.Holes 72 are formed in the upper portion of the saddle so as to providefor the reception of chains or'the like, whereby the article carrier maybe lifted from the top thereof, as by means of the block 34, 35 of Fig.1.

The saddle 38 is'hollow and provides a recess 73 in'the middle of thecarrier, and which transversely is complementary'in taarm, which when inproper position may e moved longgtudinally into the lower part of therecess the arm 18 will first be raised to snugly and firmly-engage with"theup er portion of the saddle, and then to lift t e brick or othermaterial which may be supported upon the platform 37 0f the carrier. 7

Figs. 13 and 14 illustrate a modification of the article carrier, inwhich. the metallic side plates 74 of the saddle are provided withbottom flanges75 beneath which is a bottom plate 76, which with thebottom flanges 75 are, by means of bolts 77, rigidly,

held to the opposite edges of metallic slats 78 which pass between theflanges 75 and plates 76. These slats 78 run parallel and are-separated'by means of strips 79 of corrugated metal, to form a grating and forstrengthening the construction, the ends of the slats and strips beingrigidly secured to angle sidebars 80 which form opposite side ed es ofthe platform of the carrier.

still further modification of the article carrier is illustrated inFigs. 15 and 16, wherein the bottom flanges 81 of the saddle are weldedor otherwise rigidly secured to adjacent inner portions ofmetallicplatform plates 82, 83, one of which extends away from one sideof the saddleand the other of which extends away from the other side andthen as'the lifting means is operated of the saddle. The platform plates82, 83 are formed with integral upturned flanges 84. which are welded orotherwise secured tothe inner faces of the saddle side lates. To re- 5inforce and strengthen the p atform plates 82, 83 metal angle bars 85are welded or otherwise secured transversely to the under sides thereof,extending from the extreme edge of one platform plate to the extreme 19edge of the other platform plate. Furthermore the outer edges ofthe-platform plates may be turned up as at 86 in order to more reliablyhold the articles to be placed upon the platform.

It is obvious that under the present invention, a number of lifting armsinstead: of one arm may be employed, and that when more than one isused, not only may bIlCk be raised or lowered'bodily, 'but stone, etc.,

and without requiring the use of a special.

carrier.

' What I claim as new,.is:

1. In an article handling machine, the combination of-an upright frame,a carriage guided thereon, an arm including a blade having an axialswivel connection with the carriage, for en aging a support for carryingarticles the t inner edge of the blade presented upwards and the swivelconnect on being below such edge, and means for moving the carriage tolift the articles. r

2. In an article handling machine, the combination of a supportingframe, lifting means guided thereon and comprising a projecting arm, anda removable artlcle carrier formed with an upwardly extending recessedtop portion for receiving the arm in the recess, the recess openingdownwardly and being intermediate of carrying side FOIUOIIS, forming aplatform at each side 0 the top portion.

3. In an article handlin machine, the combination of a supporting rame,lifting means guided thereon and comprising a projecting arm, and aremovable article carrier formed with an upper, horizontally elongated,deep, recess for receiving and fitting the arm, whereby the load may besupported as on a saddle slung over the arm.

4. In an article handling machine, the combination of a supportingframe, lifting meansguided thereon and comprising a projecting arm whichis of tapering cross section, and a removable article carrier having aplatform and a recessed portion above the platform having asubstantially corresponding taperingcross-section, with which portionthe arm may be engaged to lift the carrier and the articles thereon.

5. In an article handling machine, the combination of a frame, acarriage guided thereon, an arm pivoted to the carriage,--for enaging asupport for carrying articles, and iaving a heel extending inwardly ofthe piv- C at when the arm is lowered to operative position, and meansfor movin the carriage to lift the articles, and an af ustable sto onthe carriage, for the abutmentof the bee 6. In an article handlingmachine, the .combination of a frame, a carriage guided thereon, an armpivoted to the carriage, for engag- A mg a support for carryin articles,and

means for, moving the carriage to lift thev articles, the arm having aheel extending inwardly of the pivot, and an adjustable stop on thecarnage, and located inward of the pivot, for the abutment of the heel.

7. In an article handling machine, the combination ofa'frame, liftinmeans guided thereon and comprising a orizontal pivot supported on thelifting means, an arm having its Inner end mounted on the pivot formovement upwardly from a depressed osition, and abutment means inwardlyo the pivot for definin the depressed osition of the arm, a part 0 suchmeans on t e arm and a part on the lifting means, said arm beinglaterally adjustable with respect to the length of the pivot.

8. In an article handling machine, the com I

